8 boost your vocabulary cambridge IELTS 8 dinh thang

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LỜI GIỚI THIỆU
Chào các bạn,
Các bạn đang cầm trên tay cuốn “Boost your vocabulary” được biên soạn bởi mình và các
thành viên team IELTS family. Cuốn sách được viết nhằm mục đích giúp các bạn đang muốn
cải thiện vốn từ vựng cho phần thi Reading trong IELTS. Sách được viết dựa trên nền tảng
bộ Cambridge IELTS của Nhà xuất bản Đại học Cambridge – Anh Quốc.
Trong quá trình thực hiện, mình và các bạn trong nhóm đã dành tương đối nhiều thời gian để
nghiên cứu cách thức đưa nội dung sao cho khoa học và dễ dùng nhất với các bạn đọc. Tuy
vậy, cuốn sách không khỏi có những hạn chế nhất định. Mọi góp ý để cải thiện nội dung cuốn
sách mọi người xin gửi về email
Trân trọng cảm ơn,

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TÁC GIẢ & NHÓM THỰC HIỆN
Đinh Thắng
Hiện tại là giáo viên dạy IELTS tại Hà Nội từ cuối năm 2012.
Chứng chỉ ngành ngôn ngữ Anh, đại học Brighton, Anh Quốc,
2016.Từng làm việc tại tổ chức giáo dục quốc tế Language Link
Việt Nam (2011-2012)
Facebook.com/dinhthangielts

… cùng các bạn Đức Duy, Thu Anh, Thu Hằng, Xuân Anh, Thu Anh & Thùy An.

Tài trợ

Team làm sách rất cám ơn HP Academy – trung tâm đã tài trợ một phần kinh phí làm nên bộ
sách này.
HP Academy là NHÀ dành cho việc dạy và học IELTS tại 2 cơ sở Tân Bình và Gò Vấp, TP.HCM.
Ở HP, các bạn sẽ KHÔNG được cam kết đầu ra. Kết quả của các cựu học viên chính là câu trả lời chính xác nhất cho chất
lượng dạy và học.
www.hpacademy.vn

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BOOST YOUR VOCABULARY CAMBRIDGE IELTS 8

1

03 LÝ DO TẠI SAO NÊN HỌC TỪ VỰNG
THEO CUỐN SÁCH NÀY
1. Không còn mất nhiều thời gian cho việc tra từ
Các từ học thuật (academic words) trong sách đều có kèm giải thích hoặc từ đồng nghĩa.
Bạn tiết kiệm được đáng kể thời gian gõ từng từ vào từ điển và tra. Chắc chắn những bạn
thuộc dạng “không được chăm chỉ lắm trong việc tra từ vựng” sẽ thích điều này.
2. Tập trung bộ nhớ vào các từ quan trọng
Mặc dù cuốn sách không tra hết các từ giúp bạn nhưng sách đã chọn ra các từ quan trọng
và phổ biến nhất giúp bạn. Như vậy, bạn có thể tập trung bộ nhớ vào các từ này, thay vì
phải mất công nhớ các từ không quan trọng. Bạn nào đạt Reading từ 7.0 trở lên đều sẽ
thấy rất nhiều trong số các từ này thuộc loại hết sức quen thuộc
3. Học một từ nhớ nhiều từ
Rất nhiều từ được trình bày theo synonym (từ đồng nghĩa), giúp các bạn có thể xem lại và
học thêm các từ có nghĩa tương đương hoặc giống như từ gốc. Có thể nói, đây là phương
pháp học hết sức hiệu quả vì khi học một từ như impact, bạn có thể nhớ lại hoặc học thêm

một loạt các từ nghĩa tương đương như significant, vital, imperative, chief, key. Nói theo
cách khác thì nếu khả năng ghi nhớ của bạn tốt thì cuốn sách này giúp bạn đấy số lượng từ
vựng lên một cách đáng kể.

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BOOST YOUR VOCABULARY CAMBRIDGE IELTS 8

2

HƯỚNG DẪN SỬ DỤNG SÁCH
ĐỐI TƯỢNG SỬ DỤNG SÁCH
Nhìn chung các bạn cần có mức độ từ vựng tương đương 5.5 trở lên (theo thang điểm 9
của IELTS), nếu không có thể sẽ gặp nhiều khó khăn trong việc sử dụng sách này.
CÁC BƯỚC SỬ DỤNG
CÁCH 1: LÀM TEST TRƯỚC, HỌC TỪ VỰNG SAU
Bước 1: Bạn in cuốn sách này ra. Nên in bìa màu để có thêm động lực học. Cuốn sách
được thiết kế cho việc đọc trực tiếp, không phải cho việc đọc online nên bạn nào đọc online
sẽ có thể thấy khá bất tiện khi tra cứu, đối chiếu từ vựng
Bước 2: Tìm mua cuốn Cambridge IELTS (6 cuốn mới nhất từ 6-12) của Nhà xuất bản
Cambridge để làm. Hãy cẩn thận đừng mua nhầm sách lậu. Sách của nhà xuất bản
Cambridge được tái bản tại Việt Nam thường có bìa và giấy dày, chữ rất rõ nét.
Bước 3: Làm một bài test hoặc passage bất kỳ trong bộ sách trên. Ví dụ passage 1,
test 1 của Cambridge IELTS 13.
Bước 4: Đối chiếu với cuốn sách này, bạn sẽ lọc ra các từ vựng quan trọng cần học.
Ví dụ passage 1, test 1 của Cambridge IELTS 13, bài về Tourism New Zealand Website:
Bạn sẽ thấy
4.1 Cột bên trái là bản text gốc, trong đó bôi đậm các từ học thuật - academic word

4.2 Cột bên phải chứa các từ vựng này theo kèm định nghĩa (definition) hoặc từ
đồng nghĩa (synonym)
CÁCH 2: HỌC TỪ VỰNG TRƯỚC, ĐỌC TEST SAU
Bước 1: Bạn in cuốn sách này ra. Nên in bìa màu để có thêm động lực học. Cuốn sách
được thiết kế cho việc đọc trực tiếp, không phải cho việc đọc online nên bạn nào đọc online
sẽ có thể thấy khá bất tiện khi tra cứu, đối chiếu từ vựng

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BOOST YOUR VOCABULARY CAMBRIDGE IELTS 8

3

Bước 2: Đọc cột bên trái như đọc báo. Duy trì hàng ngày. Khi nào không hiểu từ nào thì
xem nghĩa hoặc synonym của từ đó ở cột bên phải. Giai đoạn này giúp bạn phát triển việc
đọc tự nhiên, thay vì đọc theo kiểu làm test. Bạn càng hiểu nhiều càng tốt. Cố gắng nhớ từ
theo ngữ cảnh.
Bước 3: Làm một bài test hoặc passage bất kỳ trong bộ sách Cambridge IELTS. Ví dụ
bạn đọc xong cuốn Boost your vocabulary 13 này thì có thể quay lại làm các test trong cuốn
10 chẳng hạn. Làm test xong thì cố gắng phát hiện các từ đã học trong cuốn 13. Bạn
nào có khả năng ghi nhớ tốt chắc chắn sẽ gặp lại rất nhiều từ đã học. Bạn nào có khả năng
ghi nhớ vừa phải cũng sẽ gặp lại không ít từ. Việc
Bước 4: Đọc cuốn Boost your vocabulary tương ứng với test bạn vừa làm. Ví dụ trong
cuốn Boost your vocabulary 10.
Tóm lại, mình ví dụ 1 chu trình đầy đủ theo cách này
B1. Đọc hiểu và học từ cuốn Boost your vocabulary 13
B2. Làm test 1 trong cuốn Boost your vocabulary 10
B3. Đọc hiểu và học từ cuốn Boost your vocabulary 10 & tìm các từ lặp lại mà bạn đã đọc

trong cuốn Boost your vocabulary 13

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BOOST YOUR VOCABULARY CAMBRIDGE IELTS 8

CAMBRIDGE IELTS 8
TEST 1
READING PASSAGE 1

O

ur conception of time depends on the way we

measure it.
A
According to archaeological evidence, at least 5,000
years ago, and long before the advent of the
Roman Empire, the Babylonians began to measure
time, introducing calendars to co-ordinate
communal activities, to plan the shipment of goods
and, in particular, to regulate planting and
harvesting. They based their calendars on three
natural cycles: the solar day, marked by the
successive periods of light and darkness as the
earth rotates on its axis; the lunar month, following

the phases of the moon as it orbits the earth; and

chronicle = a written record, history, story of
historical events.
timekeeping = the activity of recording the
time something takes
advent = coming, start, arrival, the time when
something first begins to be widely used.
co-ordinate = organize, manage, direct, to
make various, separate things work together.
communal = shared, common, public,
relating or belonging to all the people living in
a particular.
regulate= control, adjust, standardize.
solar = relating to the Sun
axis = alignment, centre line, (the imaginary
line around which a large round object, such
as the Earth).
lunar = relating to the Moon.
orbit = circle, revolve around, travel around,
go around,

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BOOST YOUR VOCABULARY CAMBRIDGE IELTS 8

the solar year, defined by the changing seasons that
accompany our planet's revolution around the sun.
B
Before the invention of artificial light, the moon had
greater social impact. And, for those living near the
equator in particular, its waxing and waning was
more conspicuous than the passing of the
seasons. Hence, the calendars that were developed
at the lower latitudes were influenced more by the
lunar cycle than by the solar year. In more northern
climes, however, where seasonal agriculture was
practised, the solar year became more crucial. As
the Roman Empire expanded northward, it
organised its activity chart for the most part around
the solar year.
C
Centuries before the Roman Empire, the Egyptians
had formulated a municipal calendar having 12
months of 30 days, with five days added to
approximate the solar year. Each period of ten days
was marked by the appearance of special groups of
stars called decans. At the rise of the star Sirius just
before sunrise, which occurred around the allimportant annual flooding of the Nile, 12 decans
could be seen spanning the heavens. The cosmic
significance the Egyptians placed in the 12 decans
led them to develop a system in which each interval
of darkness (and later, each interval of daylight) was
divided into a dozen equal parts. These periods
became known as temporal hours because their
duration varied according to the changing length of

days and nights with the passing of the seasons.
Summer hours were long, winter ones short; only at
the spring and autumn equinoxes were the hours of
daylight and darkness equal. Temporal hours, which
were first adopted by the Greeks and then the
Romans, who disseminated them through Europe,
remained in use for more than 2,500 years.
D
In order to track temporal hours during the day,
inventors created sundials, which indicate time by
the length or direction of the sun's shadow. The

accompany= go together with, come with, be
associated with, happen with, appear with.
artificial= man-made, synthetic, non-natural.
equator = an imaginary line drawn around
the middle of the Earth.
wax and wane = to increase and decrease
over time.
conspicuous = obvious, clear, noticeable.
latitude = the distance north or south of the
equator, measured in degrees.
clime = zone, region, a place that has a
particular type of climate.
crucial = vital, fundamental, essential,
important, necessary, key.

formulate = invent, create, make, develop.
municipal = civic, public, community,
#private.

decans = The decans (Egyptian) are 36
groups of stars (small constellations) used in
the Ancient Egyptian astronomy.
cosmic = relating to space or the universe.
interval= intermission, interlude, break.
temporal hours = a unit of time used in the
past that divided the daylight into an equal
number of hours,
duration = the length of time that something
lasts.
equinox = solstice, one of the two times in a
year when night and day are of equal length.
adopt = accept, approve, implement, apply,
#reject
disseminate = spread, publish, distribute.

track = follow, trace, pursue.
sundial = an object used in the past for
telling the time.

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BOOST YOUR VOCABULARY CAMBRIDGE IELTS 8

sundial's counterpart, the water clock, was
designed to measure temporal hours at night. One

of the first water clocks was a basin with a small
hole near the bottom through which the water
dripped out. The falling water level denoted the
passing hour as it dipped below hour lines
inscribed on the inner surface. Although these
devices performed satisfactorily around the
Mediterranean, they could not always be depended
on in the cloudy and often freezing weather of
northern Europe.

counterpart = equal, colleague, equivalent.
drip = drop, come out, leak, #stream.
denote = indicate, represent, refer to,
#connote
dip = dunk, immerse, to put something into a
liquid for a very short time and take it out
again.
inscribed = engrave, carve, to carefully cut,
print or write on smt
satisfactory = pleasing, reasonable,
acceptable, adequate, #unsatisfactory

E
The advent of the mechanical clock meant that
although it could be adjusted to maintain temporal
hours, it was naturally suited to keeping equal ones.
With these, however, arose the question of when to
begin counting, and so, in the early 14th century, a
number of systems evolved. The schemes that
divided the day into 24 equal parts varied according

to the start of the count: Italian hours began at
sunset, Babylonian hours at sunrise, astronomical
hours at midday and 'great clock' hours, used for
some large public clocks in Germany, at midnight.
Eventually these were superseded by 'small clock',
or French, hours, which split the day into two 12hour periods commencing at midnight.
F
The earliest recorded weight-driven mechanical
clock was built in 1283 in Bedfordshire in England.
The revolutionary aspect of this new timekeeper was
neither the descending weight that provided its
motive force nor the gear wheels (which had been
around for at least 1,300 years) that transferred the
power; It was the part called the escapement. In the
early 1400s came the invention of the coiled spring
or fusee which maintained constant force to the gear
wheels of the timekeeper despite the changing
tension of its mainspring. By the 16th century, a
pendulum clock had been devised, but the
pendulum swung in a large arc and thus was not
very efficient.

arise = rise, ascend, appear, # retire
evolve = change, grow, advance, to develop
and change gradually over a long period of
time.
scheme= plan, idea, method.
divide= split, separate, distribute, allocate,
#join.
astronomical = relating to the scientific study

of the stars.
supersede = replace, supplant, displace.
commence = start, begin, originate.

weight-driven mechanical clock = a clock
using a pendulum
descend= downward, fall, drop, go down.
escapement = a piece of machinery in a
clock from the spring or weight to a wheel.
mainspring = the most important spring in a
watch or clock.
pendulum = a long metal stick with weight at
the bottom that swings regularly from side to
side to control the working of a clock.

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BOOST YOUR VOCABULARY CAMBRIDGE IELTS 8

G
To address this, a variation on the original
escapement was invented in 1670, in England. It
was called the anchor escapement, which was a
lever-based device shaped like a ship's anchor. The
motion of a pendulum rocks this device so that it
catches and then releases each tooth of the escape

wheel, in turn allowing it to turn a precise amount.
Unlike the original form used in early pendulum
clocks, the anchor escapement permitted the
pendulum to travel in a very small arc. Moreover,
this invention allowed the use of a long pendulum
which could beat once a second and thus led to the
development of a new floor standing case design,
which became known as the grandfather clock.
H
Today, highly accurate timekeeping instruments set
the beat for most electronic devices. Nearly all
computers contain a quartz-crystal clock to
regulate their operation. Moreover, not only do time
signals beamed down from Global Positioning
System satellites calibrate the functions of
precision navigation equipment, they do so as well
for mobile phones, instant stock-trading systems
and nationwide power-distribution grids. So integral
have these time-based technologies become to dayto-day existence that our dependency on them is
recognised only when they fail to work.

the anchor escapement = a type of
escapement used in pendulum clocks
escape wheel = a toothed wheel in the
escapement of a watch or clock.
precise = exact, correct, accurate.
original = initial, earliest (existing or
happening first).
permit= allow, enable, facilitate.

accurate= correct, precise, exact.
a quartz-crystal clock = is a clock that uses
an electronic oscillator that is regulated by a
quartz crystal to keep time.
beam down = to transport somebody to or
from a spaceship using special electronic
equipment.
calibrate = standardize, adjust, regulate.
precision= accuracy, exactness,
correctness.
navigation = routing, direction-finding
the science or job of planning which way you
need to go when you are travelling from one
place to another
integral = connected, central, internal,
forming a necessary part of something.
dependency = reliance, enslavement,
craving.

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BOOST YOUR VOCABULARY CAMBRIDGE IELTS 8

READING PASSAGE 2

A

n accident that occurred in the skies over the

Grand Canyon in 1956 resulted in the
establishment of the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) to regulate and oversee the operation of aircraft
in the skies over the United States, which were
becoming quite congested. The resulting structure of air
traffic control has greatly increased the safety of flight in
the United States, and similar air traffic control
procedures are also in place over much of the rest of
the wor
B
Rudimentary air traffic control (ATC) existed well before
the Grand Canyon disaster. As early as the 1920s, the
earliest air traffic controllers manually guided aircraft in
the vicinity of the airports, using lights and flags, while
beacons and flashing lights were placed along crosscountry routes to establish the earliest airways.
However, this purely visual system was useless in bad
weather, and, by the 1930s, radio communication was

establishment = founding, launch,
creation.
federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
of the United States = a
national authority with powers to regulate
all aspects of flying in aircraft.
congested = full of traffic, overfilled,
blocked, crowded, #empty, #clear
procedure = process, way, method.

rudimentary = basic, elementary,
simple, fundamental # advanced
manually = by hand, physically, # mental
vicinity (of something) = neighborhood,
locality, surrounding area
beacon = signal, sign, warning light,
purely = entirely, wholly, totally,
completely, # partly

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BOOST YOUR VOCABULARY CAMBRIDGE IELTS 8

coming into use for ATC. The first region to have
something approximating today’s ATC was New York
City, with other major metropolitan areas following
soon after.
C
In the 1940s, ATC centres could and did take advantage
of the newly developed radar and improved radio
communication brought about by the Second World
War, but the system remained rudimentary. It was only
after the creation of the FAA that full-scale regulation of
America’s airspace took place, and this was fortuitous,
for the advent of the jet engine suddenly resulted in a

large number of very fast planes, reducing pilots’
margin of error and practically demanding some set of
rules to keep everyone well separated and operating
safely in the air.
D
Many people think that ATC consists of a row of
controllers sitting in front of their radar screens at the
nation’s airports, telling arriving and departing traffic
what to do. This is a very incomplete part of the picture.
The FAA realised that the airspace over the United
States would at any time have many different kinds of
planes, flying for many different purposes, in a variety of
weather conditions, and the same kind of structure was
needed to accommodate all of them.
E
To meet this challenge, the following elements were put
into effect. First, ATC extends over virtually the entire
United States. In general, from 365m above the ground
and higher, the entire country is blanketed by controlled
airspace. In certain areas, mainly near airports,
controlled airspace extends down to 215m above the
ground, and, in the immediate vicinity of an airport, all
the way down to the surface. Controlled airspace is that
airspace in which FAA regulations apply. Elsewhere, in
uncontrolled airspace, pilots are bound by fewer
regulations. In this way, the recreational pilot who
simply wishes to go flying for a while without all the
restrictions imposed by the FAA has only to stay in
uncontrolled airspace, below 365m, while the pilot who
does want the protection afforded by ATC can easily

enter the controlled airspace.
F
The FAA then recognised two types of operating
environments. In good meteorological conditions, flying

metropolitan= urban, municipal, civic

regulation = control, guideline,
adjustment, rule.
fortuitous = lucky, fortunate, miraculous.
advent = arrival, beginning, initiation, #
departure
jet engine = an engine that pushes out
a stream of hot air and gases behind it,
used in aircraft
margin of error = the degree to which
a calculation might or can be wrong

consist of = comprise, be made up of,
be compose of, comprise, make up.
realise = recognize, understand,
comprehend, # misunderstand
accommodate = adapt, acclimatize,
adjust.

put into effect = to make a plan or idea
happen
virtually = almost, nearly, near.
blanket = to cover something with a
thick layer.

regulation= rule, guideline, directive.
bind = require, force, oblige.
recreation = fun, enjoyment, pleasure,
good/great time, a blast, entertainment,
relaxation, leisure.
impose= force, require, obey, make
rules.
afford= give, offer, provide, allow.
meteorological = atmospheric, climatic,
weather.

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would be permitted under Visual Flight Rules (VFR),
which suggests a strong reliance on visual cues to
maintain an acceptable level of safety. Poor visibility
necessitated a set of Instrumental Flight Rules (IFR),
under which the pilot relied on altitude and
navigational information provided by the plane’s
instrument panel to fly safely. On a clear day, a pilot in
controlled airspace can choose a VFR or IFR flight plan,
and the FAA regulations were devised in a way which
accommodates both VFR and IFR operations in the
same airspace. However, a pilot can only choose to fly

IFR if they possess an instrument rating which is above
and beyond the basic pilot’s license that must also be
held.
G
Controlled airspace is divided into several different
types, designated by letters of the alphabet.
Uncontrolled airspace is designated Class F, while
controlled airspace below 5,490m above sea level and
not in the vicinity of an airport is Class E. All airspace
above 5,490m is designated Class A. The reason for the
division of Class E and Class A airspace stems from
the type of planes operating in them. Generally, Class E
airspace is where one finds general aviation aircraft (few
of which can climb above 5,490m anyway), and
commercial turboprop aircraft. Above 5,490m is the
realm of the heavy jets, since jet engines operate more
efficiently at higher altitudes. The difference between
Class E and A airspace is that in Class A, all operations
are IFR, and pilots must be instrument-rated, that is,
skilled and licensed in aircraft instrumentation. This is
because ATC control of the entire space is essential.
Three other types of airspace, Classes D, C and B,
govern the vicinity of airports. These correspond
roughly to small municipal, medium-sized metropolitan
and major metropolitan airports respectively, and
encompass an increasingly rigorous set of regulations.
For example, all a VFR pilot has to do to enter Class C
airspace is establish two-way radio contact with ATC.
No explicit permission from ATC to enter is needed,
although the pilot must continue to obey all regulations

governing VFR flight. To enter Class B airspace, such
as on approach to a major metropolitan airport, an
explicit ATC clearance is required. The private pilot who
cruises without permission into this airspace risks losing
their license.

reliance = dependence, rely on, hinge
on.
necessitate = essential, require, need,
demand.
cue = signal, indication, clue.
altitude = height above sea level.
navigation= direction-finding, steering,
routing.
devise = plan, develop, create, set up.
possess = own, have, hold, keep, #lack

designate= elect, label, entitle, define.
stem from= arise from, originate from,
come from.
turboprop= an aircraft that gets power
from this type of engine.
realm = area, space, range, field.
instrumentation= the set of instruments
used to help in controlling a machine
correspond = realate, tally, link, match
up.
municipal= civic, public, community,
#private
encompass = include, cover, contain,

#exclude
rigorous= precise, careful, accurate
explicit = clear, precise, exact, #implicit.
govern= rule, oversee, manage, control,
regulate.
cruise = fly, travel, take off, voyage.
license = certificate, pass, card, permit.

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READING PASSAGE 3

C

an human beings communicate by thought alone?

For more than a century the issue of telepathy has
divided the scientific community, and even today it still
sparks bitter controversy among top academics.

Since the 1970s, parapsychologists at leading
universities and research institutes around the world
have risked the derision of sceptical colleagues by
putting the various claims for telepathy to the test in

dozens of rigorous scientific studies. The results and
their implications are dividing even the researchers
who uncovered them.

telepathy= mind-reading, thought
transference, extrasensory perception
spark = provoke, cause, trigger.
controversy= argument, disagreement,
debate, public discussion.
academic = a teacher in a college or
university.
parapsychology = the scientific study
of mysterious abilities that some people
claim to have, such as knowing what will
happen in the future.
derision= laughter, ridicule, contempt.
sceptical = doubtful, untruthful,
suspicious.
implication = suggestion, insinuation,
association.
uncover = discover, reveal, expose

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Some researchers say the results constitute
compelling evidence that telepathy is genuine. Other
parapsychologists believe the field is on the brink of
collapse, having tried to produce definitive scientific
proof and failed. Sceptics and advocates alike do
concur on one issue, however: that the most impressive
evidence so far has come from the so-called 'ganzfeld'
experiments, a German term that means 'whole field'.
Reports of telepathic experiences had by people during
meditation led parapsychologists to suspect that
telepathy might involve 'signals' passing between people
that were so faint that they were usually swamped by
normal brain activity. In this case, such signals might be
more easily detected by those experiencing meditationlike tranquility in a relaxing 'whole field' of light, sound
and warmth.

constitute = make up, establish, create.
compelling = forceful, convincing,
persuasive, very interesting and exciting.
the brink of something = a situation
when you are almost in a new situation,
usually a bad one
collapse = fail, end, break down.
definitive= ultimate, perfect, best.
sceptic= cynic, doubter, questioner
#believer.
advocate = supporter, promoter,
believer.
concur = agree, correspond, coincide
#conflict

meditation=the practice of emptying
your mind of thoughts and feelings, in
order to relax completely or
for religious reasons.
suspect = doubt, distrust, disbelieve.
faint= pale, unclear, weak #strong
swamp = overwhelm, inundate, drown
tranquility = calm, quiet, silence, #
bustle.

The ganzfeld experiment tries to recreate these
conditions with participants sitting in soft reclining
chairs in a sealed room, listening to relaxing sounds
while their eyes are covered with special filters letting in
only soft pink light. In early ganzfeld experiments, the
telepathy test involved identification of a picture
chosen from a random selection of four taken from a
large image bank. The idea was that a person acting as
a 'sender' would attempt to beam the image over to the
'receiver' relaxing in the sealed room.

reclining = rest, lie down, lounge, #stand

Once the session was over, this person was asked to
identify which of the four images had been used.
Random guessing would give a hit-rate of 25 per cent; if
telepathy is real, however, the hit-rate would be higher.
In 1982, the results from the first ganzfeld studies were
analysed by one of its pioneers, the American
parapsychologist Charles Honorton. They pointed to

typical hit-rates of better than 30 per cent - a small

analyze= examine, scrutinize,
investigate.

sealed = closed, to formally approve an
agreement.
experiment = test, trial, research
identification = recognition,
classification. distinguishing
attempt= try, make an effort, have a
shot.
beam = send out, radiate, emit

pioneer = creator, discoverer, inventor,
forerunner
typical= usual, normal, standard,
average.

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BOOST YOUR VOCABULARY CAMBRIDGE IELTS 8

effect, but one which statistical tests suggested could
not be put down to chance.
The implication was that the ganzfeld method had

revealed real evidence for telepathy. But there was a
crucial flaw in this argument - one routinely overlooked
in more conventional areas of science. Just because
chance had been ruled out as an explanation did not
prove telepathy must exist; there were many other ways
of getting positive results. These ranged from 'sensory
leakage' - where clues about the pictures accidentally
reach the receiver - to outright fraud. In response, the
researchers issued a review of all the ganzfeld studies
done up to 1985 to show that 80 per cent had found
statistically significant evidence. However, they also
agreed that there were still too many problems in the
experiments which could lead to positive results, and
they drew up a list demanding new standards for future
research.
After this, many researchers switched to autoganzfeld
tests - an automated variant of the technique which used
computers to perform many of the key tasks such as the
random selection of images. By minimising human
involvement, the idea was to minimise the risk of
flawed results. In 1987, results from hundreds of
autoganzfeld tests were studied by Honorton in a 'metaanalysis', a statistical technique for finding the overall
results from a set of studies. Though less compelling
than before, the outcome was still impressive.
Yet some parapsychologists remain disturbed by the
lack of consistency between individual ganzfeld
studies. Defenders of telepathy point out that
demanding impressive evidence from every study
ignores one basic statistical fact: it takes large samples
to detect small effects. If, as current results suggest,

telepathy produces hit-rates only marginally above the
25 per cent expected by chance, it's unlikely to be
detected by a typical ganzfeld study involving around 40
people: the group is just not big enough. Only when
many studies are combined in a meta-analysis will the
faint signal of telepathy really become apparent. And
that is what researchers do seem to be finding.

statistical= numerical, arithmetic,
arithmetical.

flaw= fault, error, mistake.
overlook= fail to notice, fail to see, miss.
conventional =traditional, usual,
conservative.
prove = show, confirm, demonstrate.
sensory = relating to the feelings of your
body rather than your mind.
leakage = escape, outflow, drip.
outright = clear and direct, absolute,
complete.
fraud= dishonesty, scam, deception. .

involvement = participation, connection,
contribution.
impressive = imposing, inspiring,
striking.
disturb = perturb, concern, worry,
bother.
consistency= constancy, steadiness,

stability.
defender =protector, supporter, guard.
marginally = slightly, just over, a bit
detect= discover, find out, reveal, notice.
apparent = obvious, clear, seeming.

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What they are certainly not finding, however, is any
change in attitude of mainstream scientists: most still
totally reject the very idea of telepathy. The problem
stems at least in part from the lack of any plausible
mechanism for telepathy.

mainstream = normal, typical,

Various theories have been put forward, many focusing
on esoteric ideas from theoretical physics. They include
'quantum entanglement', in which events affecting one
group of atoms instantly affect another group, no matter
how far apart they may be. While physicists have
demonstrated entanglement with specially prepared
atoms, no-one knows if it also exists between atoms
making up human minds. Answering such questions

would transform parapsychology. This has prompted
some researchers to argue that the future lies not in
collecting more evidence for telepathy, but in probing
possible mechanisms. Some work has begun already,
with researchers trying to identify people who are
particularly successful in autoganzfeld trials. Early
results show that creative and artistic people do much
better than average: in one study at the University of
Edinburgh, musicians achieved a hit-rate of 56 per cent.
Perhaps more tests like these will eventually give the
researchers the evidence they are seeking and
strengthen the case for the existence of telepathy.

put forward = state, suggest, propose

conventional, # unconventional
plausible = reasonable, possible,
believable.

esoteric = obscure, mysterious, cryptic,
(known and understood by only a few
people who have special knowledge
about something).
quantum = a unit of energy in nuclear
physics.
entanglement = a difficult situation or
relationship that is hard to escape from.
atom = the smallest part of an element
that can exist alone or can combine with
other substances to form a molecule.

prompt = stimulate, provoke, motivate
probing= inquisitive, analytical,
penetrating.
trial = test, experiment, examination.

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BOOST YOUR VOCABULARY CAMBRIDGE IELTS 8

TEST 2
READING PASSAGE 1

G

lass, which has been made since the time of

the Mesopotamians and Egyptians, is little more than
a mixture of sand, soda ash and lime. When heated
to about 1500 degrees Celsius (°C) this becomes a
molten mass that hardens when slowly cooled. The
first successful method for making clear, flat glass
involved spinning. This method was very effective as
the glass had not touched any surfaces between
being soft and becoming hard, so it stayed perfectly
unblemished, with a 'fire finish'. However, the
process took a long time and was labour intensive.

mixture = combination, blend, hybrid,
amalgam.
molten = metal or rock has been made into a
liquid by being heated to a very high
temperature.
harden = solidify, freeze, consolidate,
#soften
involve= associate, engage, connect, link.
unblemished = flawless, perfect,
untarnished, # flawed, #imperfect
labour = work, employment, hard work,
manual labor
intensive = concentrated, rigorous, thorough,
exhaustive, #easy (tens=strain, stretch .i.e tension,
extension)

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Nevertheless, demand for flat glass was very high
and glassmakers across the world were looking for a
method of making it continuously. The first
continuous ribbon process involved squeezing
molten glass through two hot rollers, similar to an old

mangle. This allowed glass of virtually any thickness
to be made non-stop, but the rollers would leave
both sides of the glass marked, and these would then
need to be ground and polished. This part of the
process rubbed away around 20 per cent of the
glass, and the machines were very expensive.

continuous =uninterruptedly, endlessly, nonstop, #intermittently
ribbon = length, stretch, strip
roller= a piece of wood, metal or plastic,
shaped like a tube, that rolls over and over.
mangle = a machine used in former
times to remove water from washed clothes
by pressing them between two rollers
virtually= almost, nearly, practically.
non-stop= continuously, constantly,
endlessly.
polished= shined, cleaned, rubbed, sparkled,
# tarnished.
rub away= erode, wipe out, wear away

The float process for making flat glass was invented
by Alistair Pilkington. This process allows the
manufacture of clear, tinted and coated glass for
buildings, and clear and tinted glass for vehicles.
Pilkington had been experimenting with improving the
melting process, and in 1952 he had the idea of using
a bed of molten metal to form the flat glass,
eliminating altogether the need for rollers within the
float bath. The metal had to melt at a temperature

less than the hardening point of glass (about 600°C),
but could not boil at a temperature below the
temperature of the molten glass (about 1500°C). The
best metal for the job was tin.

manufacture = production, creation, making.

The rest of the concept relied on gravity, which
guaranteed that the surface of the molten metal was
perfectly flat and horizontal. Consequently, when
pouring molten glass onto the molten tin, the
underside of the glass would also be perfectly flat. If
the glass were kept hot enough, it would flow over the
molten tin until the top surface was also flat,
horizontal and perfectly parallel to the bottom
surface. Once the glass cooled to 604°C or less it
was too hard to mark and could be transported out of
the cooling zone by rollers. The glass settled to a
thickness of six millimetres because of surface
tension interactions between the glass and the tin.
By fortunate coincidence, 60 per cent of the flat
glass market at that time was for six-millimetre glass.
Pilkington built a pilot plant in 1953 and by 1955 he
had convinced his company to build a full-scale

concept = idea, perception, belief

tinted = coloured, painted, decorated.
coated = covered, layered, encrusted.
eliminate= get rid of, remove, eradicate,

reject, #retain
float = the surface of a liquid
tin = a soft silver-white metal that is often
used to cover and protect iron and steel

rely on = depend on, count on, trust
gravity = the force that causes something to
fall to the ground or to be attracted to
another planet
guarantee = ensure, assure.
pour = drizzle, tip, spill, splash.
horizontal= flat, smooth, straight
parallel = two lines, paths etc that are
parallel to each other are the
same distance apart along their whole length
tension = stress pressure, strain.
fortunate = lucky, happy, chance.
coincidence = when two things happen at
the same time
convince= persuade, encourage, influence.
full-scale = full-sized, complete, #partial

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plant. However, it took 14 months of non-stop
production, costing the company £100,000 a month,
before the plant produced any usable glass.
Furthermore, once they succeeded in making
marketable flat glass, the machine was turned off for
a service to prepare it for years of continuous
production. When it started up again it took another
four months to get the process right again. They
finally succeeded in 1959 and there are now float
plants all over the world, with each able to produce
around 1000 tons of glass every day, non-stop for
around 15 years.
Float plants today make glass of near optical quality.
Several processes - melting, refining,
homogenising - take place simultaneously in the
2000 tonnes of molten glass in the furnace. They
occur in separate zones in a complex glass flow
driven by high temperatures. It adds up to a
continuous melting process, lasting as long as 50
hours, that delivers glass smoothly and continuously
to the float bath, and from there to a coating zone and
finally a heat treatment zone, where stresses formed
during cooling are relieved.
The principle of float glass is unchanged since the
1950s. However, the product has changed
dramatically, from a single thickness of 6.8 mm to a
range from sub-millimetre to 25 mm, from a ribbon
frequently marred by inclusions and bubbles to
almost optical perfection. To ensure the highest
quality, inspection takes place at every stage.

Occasionally, a bubble is not removed during refining,
a sand grain refuses to melt, a tremor in the tin puts
ripples into the glass ribbon. Automated on-line
inspection does two things. Firstly, it reveals process
faults upstream that can be corrected. Inspection
technology allows more than 100 million
measurements a second to be made across the
ribbon, locating flaws the unaided eye would be
unable to see. Secondly, it enables computers
downstream to steer cutters around flaws.
Float glass is sold by the square metre, and at the
final stage computers translate customer
requirements into patterns of cuts designed to
minimise waste.

plant = factory, workshop, manufacturing
works.
marketable= marketable goods, skills etc
can be sold easily because people want them

optical = visual, ocular, photosensitive.
refine = purify, filter, distill, # contaminate
homogenise = to change something so that
its parts become similar or the same.
(hom=same .i.e homogeneous, homosexual)

simultaneously= at the same time,
concurrently, instantaneously
furnace= heater, boiler, oven.
occur = happen, take place, befall

deliver = transport, bring, carry, send.
relieved = released, eased, alleviated,
reduced, mitigated

dramatically= radically, noticeably,
considerably, significantly.
range = variety, series, array.
mar = spoil, ruin, detract from something,
undermine
inspection = review, examination,
assessment.
grain = small piece, little bit, granule
tremor = shake, tremble, vibration
ripple = wave, undulation, wrinkle, #stillness
measurement= dimension, size, extent.
unaided = bear, unprotected, unassisted
flaw= defect, mistake, fault.
unaided= unassisted, without help.
steer = drive, guide, direct.
cutter= a tool that is used
for cutting something.

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READING PASSAGE 2

T

his book will provide a detailed examination of the

Little Ice Age and other climatic shifts, but, before I
embark on that, let me provide a historical context. We
tend to think of climate - as opposed to weather - as
something unchanging, yet humanity has been at the
mercy of climate change for its entire existence, with at
least eight glacial episodes in the past 730,000 years.
Our ancestors adapted to the universal but irregular
global warming since the end of the last great Ice Age,
around 10,000 years ago, with dazzling opportunism.
They developed strategies for surviving harsh drought
cycles, decades of heavy rainfall or unaccustomed cold;
adopted agriculture and stock-raising, which
revolutionised human life; and founded the world’s first
pre-industrial civilisations in Egypt, Mesopotamia and
the Americas. But the price of sudden climate change, in
famine, disease and suffering, was often high.

climatic = relating to the weather in a particular
area.
shift = change, alteration, modification
embark on= start, begin, get on
oppose = versus, against, contrasted with. (op=against
.i.e, opposition)

at the mercy of =unable to do anything to protect
yourself from someone or something
existence = being, survival, #extinction
glacial = icy, freezing, cold, # tropical
irregular = unusual, abnormal, #proper .

(regul= rule

.i.em regular, regulation)

dazzling = bright, strong, brilliant, harsh.
opportunism= using
every opportunity to gain power, money, or unfair
advantages – used to show disapproval.
unaccustomed = unfamiliar, unusual, different,
strange.
stock-raising = to look after animals
civilisation = a society that is well organized and
developed, used especially about a particular
place or particular time

(civ=citizen .i.e civic, civilian)

famine = scarcity, food crisis, food shortage.

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B
The Little Ice Age lasted from roughly 1300 until the
middle of the nineteenth century. Only two centuries ago,
Europe experienced a cycle of bitterly cold winters;
mountain glaciers in the Swiss Alps were the lowest in
recorded memory, and pack ice surrounded Iceland for
much of the year. The climatic events of the Little Ice Age
did more than help shape the modern world. They are the
deeply important context for the current unprecedented
global warming. The Little Ice Age was far from a deep
freeze, however; rather an irregular seesaw of rapid
climatic shifts, few lasting more than a quarter-century,
driven by complex and still little understood interactions
between the atmosphere and the ocean. The seesaw
brought cycles of intensely cold winters and easterly
winds, then switched abruptly to years of heavy spring
and early summer rains, mild winters, and frequent
Atlantic storms, or to periods of droughts, light
northeasterly winds, and summer heat wave.
C
Reconstructing the climate changes of the past is
extremely difficult, because systematic weather
observations began only a few centuries ago, in Europe
and North America. Records from India and tropical Africa
are even more recent. For the time before records began,
we have only ‘proxy records’ reconstructed largely from
tree rings and ice cores, supplemented by a few

incomplete written accounts. We now have hundreds of
tree-ring records from throughout the northern
hemisphere, and many from south of the equator, too,
amplified with a growing body of temperature data from
ice cores drilled in Antarctica, Greenland, the Peruvian
Andes, and other locations. We are close to a knowledge
of annual summer and winter temperature variations
over much of the northern hemisphere going back 600
years.
D
This book is a narrative history of climatic shifts during
the past ten centuries, and some of the ways in which
people in Europe adapted to them. Part One describes
the Medieval Warm Period, roughly 900 to 1200. During
these three centuries, Norse voyagers from Northern
Europe explored northern seas, settled Greenland, and
visited North America. It was not a time of uniform
warmth, for then, as always since the Great Ice Age,
there were constant shifts in rainfall and temperature.
Mean European temperatures were about the same as
today, perhaps slightly cooler.

glacier = a large mass of ice which moves
slowly down a mountain valley
unprecedented = extraordinary, first-time
exceptional, unusual, #ordinary
seesaw = alternation, oscillation, swing.
irregular = random, erratic, variable
#regular
interaction = communication, contact,

interface.
switch = change, shift, adjustment.
abruptly= suddenly and unexpectedly
(rupt=break .i.e disrupt, interrupt)

mild = slight, minor, weak, warm
heat wave = a period of
unusually hot weather, especially one that
continues for a long time, #cold spell

reconstruct = rebuilding, recreate,
modernize (struct= build .i.e construction, structure)
observation = surveillance, scrutiny,
watching, #neglect
proxy = substitution, deputation,
delegation
supplement = addition, extra,
complement. (ple=fill,full .i.e replete, plethora)
tree-ring = one of the rings that you
can see in a tree trunk (= centre part) if
you cut through it.
hemisphere = a half of the Earth,
especially one of the halves above and
below the equator.(hemi=half.i.e hemicycle,
hemicube)
amplify = increase, strengthen, #reduce
drill = pierce, penetrate, make a hole
variation = difference, distinction,
#similarity
narrative = story, tale, description

adapt = familiarize, get used to, adjust.
norse = relating to the people
of ancient Scandinavia or their language.
voyager= traveler, explorer, adventurer
settle = stay, set up house, inhabit
uniform = unchanging, constant,
unvarying, # uneven

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BOOST YOUR VOCABULARY CAMBRIDGE IELTS 8

E
It is known that the Little Ice Age cooling began in
Greenland and the Arctic in about 1200. As the Arctic ice
pack spread southward, Norse voyages to the west were
rerouted into the open Atlantic, then ended altogether.
Storminess increased in the North Atlantic and North Sea.
Colder, much wetter weather descended on Europe
between 1315 and 1319, when thousands perished in a
continent-wide famine. By 1400, the weather had
become decidedly more unpredictable and stormier, with
sudden shifts and lower temperatures that culminated in
the cold decades of the late sixteenth century. Fish were
a vital commodity in growing towns and cities, where food
supplies were a constant concern. Dried cod and herring

were already the staples of the European fish trade, but
changes in water temperatures forced fishing fleets to
work further offshore. The Basques, Dutch, and English
developed the first offshore fishing boats adapted to a
colder and stormier Atlantic. A gradual agricultural
revolution in Northern Europe stemmed from concerns
over food supplies at a time of rising populations. The
revolution involved intensive commercial farming and the
growing of animal fodder on land not previously used for
crops. The increased productivity from farmland made
some countries self-sufficient in grain and livestock and
offered effective protection against famine.
F
Global temperatures began to rise slowly after 1850, with
the beginning of the Modern Warm Period. There was a
vast migration from Europe by land-hungry farmers and
others, to which the famine caused by the Irish potato
blight contributed to North America, Australia, New
Zealand, and southern Africa. Millions of hectares of
forest and woodland fell before the newcomers’ axes
between 1850 and 1890, as intensive European farming
methods expanded across the world. The
unprecedented land clearance released vast quantities
of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, triggering for the
first time humanly caused global warming. Temperatures
climbed more rapidly in the twentieth century as the use
of fossil fuels proliferated and greenhouse gas levels
continued to soar. The rise has been even steeper since
the early 1980s. The Little Ice Age has given way to a
new climatic regime, marked by prolonged and steady

warming. At the same time, extreme weather events like
Category 5 hurricanes are becoming more frequent.

reroute = redirect, deflect, switch
descend = fall down, fall, decline,
#ascend(de=decline .i.e decrease, declince, destroy)
perish = die, pass away, decease, #live,
#survive
continent = mainland, landmass,
landform, land
culminate = end, finish, #start.
cod = a large sea fish that lives in
the North Atlantic
herring= a long thin silver sea fish that
can be eaten.
staple = a food that is needed and used
all the time
offshore = in or under the sea and not far
from the coast.
stem from = arise from, come from, be a
result of.
fodder = food, silage, rations, feed
self-sufficient = independent,
autonomous, self-supporting
vast = huge, massive, enormous.
migration = relocation, movement,
immigration, resettlement
blight = disease, an unhealthy condition of
plants in which parts of them dry up and
die.

unprecedented= unusual, exceptional,
rare.
clearance= permission, authorization,
allowance.
trigger = activate, cause, elicit, #halt .
proliferate = increase, multiply, grow.
soar =increase, rise, escalate, #plummet
steep = sheer, sharp, vertical.
regime = system, establishment.
prolonged = continued, extended, long,
sustained, # brief, short-lived
hurricane = storm, cyclone, typhoon,
tornado

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BOOST YOUR VOCABULARY CAMBRIDGE IELTS 8

READING PASSAGE 3

T

he sense of smell, or olfaction, is powerful.

Odours affect us on a physical, psychological and
social level. For the most part, however, we breathe in

the aromas which surround us without being
consciously aware of their importance to us. It is only
when the faculty of smell is impaired for some reason
that we begin to realise the essential role the sense of
smell plays in our sense of well-being
A
A survey conducted by Anthony Synott at Montreal’s
Concordia University asked participants to comment on
how important smell was to them in their lives. It
became apparent that smell can evoke strong
emotional responses. A scent associated with a good
experience can bring a rush of joy, while a foul odour
or one associated with a bad memory may make us
grimace with disgust. Respondents to the survey
noted that many of their olfactory likes and dislikes
were based on emotional associations. Such

olfaction= the action of smelling
odour = smell, whiff, scent, fragrance,
perfume, aroma.
aroma = a pleasant smell, especially from
food or coffee.
consciously = aware, intentionally, on
purpose, unintentionally
faculty = a natural ability, capacity, sense,
# inability
impair = harm, damage, weaken, worsen,
#enhance
conduct = do, make, carry out.(duc=mak e .i.e
produce, introduce)

evoke = induce, arouse, stir up, #suppress
rush = flow, pour, gush, stream
foul = unpleasant, disgusting, horrible.
grimace = twist, pull a face, make a face,
#smile.
disgust = revulsion, repugnance, loathing,
hatred, #attraction
respondent = responder, participant,
interviewee, answerer.

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BOOST YOUR VOCABULARY CAMBRIDGE IELTS 8

associations can be powerful enough so that odours
that we would generally label unpleasant become
agreeable, and those that we would generally consider
fragrant become disagreeable for particular individuals.
The perception of smell, therefore, consists not only of
the sensation of the odours themselves, but of the
experiences and emotions associated with them.
B
Odours are also essential cues in social bonding. One
respondent to the survey believed that there is no true
emotional bonding without touching and smelling a
loved one. In fact, infants recognise the odours of their

mothers soon after birth and adults can often identify
their children or spouses by scent. In one well-known
test, women and men were able to distinguish by
smell alone clothing worn by their marriage partners
from similar clothing worn by other people. Most of the
subjects would probably never have given much
thought to odour as a cue for identifying family
members before being involved in the test, but as the
experiment revealed, even when not consciously
considered, smells register.
C
In spite of its importance to our emotional and sensory
lives, smell is probably the most undervalued sense in
many cultures. The reason often given for the low
regard in which smell is held is that, in comparison with
its importance among animals, the human sense of
smell is feeble and undeveloped. While it is true that
the olfactory powers of humans are nothing like as fine
as those possessed by certain animals, they are still
remarkably acute. Our noses are able to recognise
thousands of smells, and to perceive odours which are
present only in extremely small quantities.
D
Smell, however, is a highly elusive phenomenon.
Odours, unlike colours, for instance, cannot be named
in many languages because the specific vocabulary
simply doesn’t exist. ‘It smells like...,’ we have to say
when describing an odour, struggling to express our
olfactory experience. Nor can odours be recorded:
there is no effective way to either capture or store

them over time. In the realm of olfaction, we must
make do with descriptions and recollections. This has
implications for olfactory research.

association = connection, involvement,
correlation
consist= contain, involve, comprise
sensation=feeling, sense, awareness

cue = hint, clue, signal, sign
bonding= connection, relationship,
association.
Infant= baby, child, newborn.
spouse = husband/wife, partner, other
half.
distinguish = recognize, identify, discern.
register = realize, notice= if something
registers, or if you register it, you realize or
notice it, and then remember it

sensory= sensual, bodily, #intellectual
(sens=feel.i.e sensitive, sensible)
undervalued = underestimate,
underrated.
feeble = weak, ineffective, poor, #strong, #
effective
possess = have, hold, own, retain, #lack
remarkably = extraordinarily, amazingly,
outstandingly, extremely.
acute = sharp, sensitive, heightened

perceive= notice, sense, recognize.
elusive = indefinable, indescribable, hard
to pin down.
phenomenon = occurrence, fact, event,
happening
struggle =strive, strain, make an effort
capture = catch, seize, take, pick up,
#release. (capt=hold, tak e .i.e captivate)
realm = area, field, department, scope.
Implication = suggestion, association,
insinuation.

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